


When I Meet Thomas Jefferson

by thundercaya



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Open Marriage, Workplace Warzone compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 07:17:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11203104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thundercaya/pseuds/thundercaya
Summary: “So what did you think of him?” Angelica asked.“I would askyouthat,” John said, “but it’s pretty obvious.”





	When I Meet Thomas Jefferson

It wasn’t Angelica’s first time in Paris, but it was her first time being there without her parents and her siblings. Of course it had been enjoyable those other times, too, but back then there had been so much fighting about where to go, what to eat, _when_ to eat, and on and on and on, that there has been an extra layer of stress spread out over the whole thing. This time, however, Angelica was in charge. Having spent plenty of time in Paris before and wanting to keep his new wife happy at every moment, John did everything he could to turn Angelica’s every desire into a reality. However, while John was content to let Angelica take the wheel on this trip, he still had plenty of suggestions, like when he told her he might be able to get them into a party that was being thrown by the American ambassador to France, Thomas Jefferson.  


Meeting the ambassador would be an incredible opportunity to have some stimulating conversation about something other than the merits of a particular laser tag place or whatever was on Netflix, (though of course she loved talking to John about those things), and there was no telling who else would be there.

John was even less eloquent in French than he was in English, but his Parisian friends seemed to think it was funny, and for making fun of America’s television-viewing habits, they sure seemed to love clever commercials. More than that, right away, they loved Angelica. She was charming her way into the heart of an up and coming painter with her impeccable French when John tapped her on her shoulder.

“Angel of mine,” he said, “the ambassador has decided to make an appearance.”

Angelica would personally never be late to her own party, but she supposed she could see the value in making an entrance. Certainly, most eyes were on Thomas Jefferson, though Angelica supposed that his brightly colored suit might have something to do with that. She was about to make a comment to John about it when Thomas turned his head and met her eyes. Actually, now that she was looking at him head on, the entire look was coming together. The buoyant hair, the neatly-trimmed beard, the eye-catching suit--it all went with his God-given brilliant smile and equally brilliant eyes.

Thomas turned away from her again as someone near him took his attention. Angelica nudged John.

“Introduce me to him.”

“I’d love to, darling, but I don’t know him. I think Ulrich is in the restroom, but once he comes back I’ll ask him to--”

“Hold on,” Angelica said. “I think he’s coming over here.”

Sure enough, Thomas was making his way through the crowd, and while he did stop to shake hands and exchange greetings with some guests, he very clearly made eye contact with Angelica every time he broke free. Once he was quite near, his eyes fell on the hand that was holding her wine glass. This was the same hand where she wore her wedding ring, which is probably why at that moment Thomas altered his trajectory and greeted John first instead.

“Hello,” he said, offering John his hand. “Thomas Jefferson. You’re… Ulrich St. Pierre’s friend, right? The, uh, one who handled his campaign ad? John Church?”

“I handled the team that handled the ad,” John corrected, shaking his hand. “And it’s actually Church-Schuyler now.”

Thomas turned to Angelica then and offered his hand. “And are you the one who added the Schuyler to this very lucky man’s name?”

“I certainly am,” Angelica said, putting her hand in his and allowing him to kiss it. “Angelica.”

“You might not have heard of her,” John said, “but Ulrich says you read a lot, so you’ve probably come across her work, even if you don’t know it.”

“Are you a ghostwriter?” Thomas asked.

“An editor,” Angelica said. “Mostly history.”

“Well, then I probably have,” Thomas said. “Ulrich is right; I’m very well-read. So what brings an American woman and an Englishman to Paris?”

“The name thing,” John said.

“The what?”

There went John, trying to connect to a point that was too far back in the conversation.

“It’s our honeymoon,” Angelica supplied.

“The name- _hyphenation_ thing,” Thomas said. “Got it. Well, congratulations, and I’m honored you thought I was worth going outside.”

John gave a small, annoyed huff at that, though Thomas didn’t seem to notice. Angelica put a hand on his arm, a quick reassurance that there was no expectation there.

“Well, I certainly wanted to see the city,” Angelica said. “It’s beautiful here. And may I say, so is your home. Did it come furnished or is this your taste?”

“It came furnished, but if it wasn’t my taste, believe me, I wouldn’t be living here.”

“Thomas!” a man called before grabbing his arm and saying something into his ear. Thomas nodded at him, then turned back to John and Angelica.

“Listen, I’d love to talk to you two more, but I still have to make my rounds here. Why don’t you come by tomorrow for lunch?” He smiled at Angelica. “Maybe we can figure out which books I’ve read that have received your magic touch.”

Angelica glanced at John. “Does that sound okay, dear?”

“Uh, yes, I don’t see why not,” John said. “How’s noon?”

“Noon is perfect,” Thomas said, flashing them an “okay” sign as he was dragged away by the other man. “See you then!”

 

“So what did you think of him?” Angelica asked when the were back at their hotel room.

“I would ask _you_ that,” John said, stripping off his jacket, “but it’s pretty obvious.”

Angelica flushed. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” John assured, dropping the jacket into the laundry collection bag then going for his pants next. “I told you you could look. Why would I get mad at you for doing it?”

“It seemed like he kind of upset you, so I would understand if, in this particular case--”

“That was nothing,” John said, throwing his shirt in the bag. “Everyone thinks like that, not just him.” Free of his clothes, he went to Angelica and unzipped her dress for her. “So. If you like him, and I approve, how do we go about this?”

Angelica shimmied out of her dress. “What if I showed up to lunch by myself and--”

“No,” John said. “I have to be there, or he might think you’re lying about the arrangement.”

“That’s a good point. Imagine if I called you in the middle of lunch so you could talk to him. ‘Say, Mr. Church, is it true your wife is allowed to sleep with me?’”

John chuckled. “Exactly. Well, we have time to think about what we want to say to him.”

 

There was still no set plan as they made their way to Thomas’ home, and they certainly weren’t going to discuss it in the taxi. Still, Angelica thought that she could wing it. She was pretty good at thinking on her feet, after all.

Thomas greeted them at the door himself, which was surprising because there had been servants at the party, but maybe the rest of the time he liked his privacy. Privacy was certainly preferred given what Angelica hoped to ask him.

Thomas lead them to the dining room after they’d hung up their coats. “Have a seat and I’ll be right back with the food.”

John pulled out Angelica’s chair. “How are you feeling, Angel of mine? Nervous?”

“A bit,” Angelica admitted. “I’m still not sure what--” She cut off as Thomas returned with a casserole dish loaded with mac and cheese.

“Sorry it’s not much,” Thomas said. “I didn’t schedule anyone to come in and cook today, and I didn’t have much time between last night and now.”

“This will be just fine,” Angelica said.

“Speaking of last night,” Thomas said, serving the mac and cheese, “I’m sorry I was too busy to chat. I don’t really like parties too much, but it’s the best way to get certain people all in the same place without making them feel like they’re putting in unpaid work.”

“I agree,” John said. “And alcohol tends to make them a little more open to listening to things they don’t want to hear.”

“Up to a certain point,” Angelica corrected. “Then they’re just more open to arguing.”

“God, I know,” Thomas agreed as he and John took their seats as well. “Good thing I’m good at remembering what people’s limits are.”

John mostly fell out of the conversation after that, as the topic switched to things like architecture and art history. Angelica made sure to squeeze his hand occasionally and shoot him smiles so he wouldn’t think that she’d forgotten about him.

It was during desert that John spoke. “So Mr. Jefferson, you seem like an open-minded man.”

“I do try to be,” Thomas said.

“And, uh, you are single aren’t you?”

Angelica lifted her finger, wanting to say something, but seeing that Thomas’ eyes were locked on to John, she curled it back into her fist, which she brought to her mouth instead.

“Currently, yes,” Thomas said. 

 “And are you… open to casual encounters, or is it strictly serious for you?”

 “These days, casual is what I’m interested in.”

“I would imagine you’re safe about it?”

Angelica massaged her temple and muttered; “Oh my god, John.”

“Of course. Protection is essential for something spontaneous, and testing is preferred for something more regular.”

“And do you worry about getting overly attached? Particularly with something ‘more regular?’”

“I’m not currently looking for any kind of attachment, no.”

“Well then, Mr. Jefferson, how would you feel about having sex with my wife?”

Angelica covered her face with her hand and muttered; “Honestly, John?”

Thomas looked from John to Angelica and back and said; “Oh _just_ her?” John looked taken aback and Thomas added; “It just didn’t occur to me that you might only want to watch.”

“No,” John said, hurriedly. “No watching. I wouldn’t be involved at all.”

Thomas looked from John to Angelica, who had gone from looking mortified to resigned. After all, she was pretty used to this sort of thing. Not awkward sexual propositions, but witnessing conversations barreling out of John’s control.

“This isn’t some kind of trap, is it?” Thomas asked. “You’re not trying to get me involved in some kind of scandal?”

“A scandal would hurt my father,” Angelica pointed out. “That’s the last thing I want. Discretion would be an absolute necessity.”

“And Mr. Church, you’re really all right with this?”

John cleared his throat. “In theory I am, but if it doesn’t work out that way, I assure you I won’t take it out on you. We’ve only just gotten married, as you know, so we’re still feeling things out.”

Thomas looked back and forth between the two of them. “So I’m the first person you’ve gone to with this?”

Angelica could see the faint glow of ego behind Thomas’ eyes. Might as well stoke the flame. “Absolutely. You were the first person I thought to ask.”

“Well, I can’t say no to being a trailblazer,” Thomas said. “Of course we need to discuss details, but consider me in.”

 

“How are you feeling about this?” Angelica asked John, her head on his shoulder as they sat on the edge of the bed back at their hotel room. All parties involved agreed that the same day was much too soon.

“Honestly, fine,” John said. “Mostly. I really don’t mind the idea of you having sex with him. It’s just sex. But you seemed to get along really well. He’s very much on your level intellectually and, maybe that one last bit of connection--”

“John, I will absolutely not do it if you don’t want me to,” Angelica said, “but you don’t have to worry about me leaving you for him. In the first place, no one is on my level intellectually.”

They both grinned at that.

“And secondly, I don’t think he even likes laser tag.”

“Funny you should mention that,” John said. “I was thinking about what I would do tomorrow while you two are… enjoying yourselves, and I was thinking of playing some.”

Angelica gasped. “Without me?!”

“It’s either that or stay in and watch Netflix, and wouldn’t it be worse if I got ahead on some show we were watching together?”

Angelica sighed. “I _guess_.” She kissed John’s shoulder. “So are you all right?”

“Yes,” John said. “Angel of mine, you’ve reassured me completely.”

“Good.” Angelica pecked John on the lips. “Now what do you say to a nice dinner out on the town?”

  


Angelica never thought she’d see the day where she was distracted from sex by laser tag of all things. Not that she didn’t enjoy the romp with Thomas, especially after the dry spell that extended back even before her relationship with John, but she did think of John often even as Thomas brought her to orgasm after orgasm. She didn’t feel guilty about it; Thomas knew going into this that her heart was elsewhere, so why not her mind?

Once they’d worn themselves out, Angelica dozed in Thomas’ bed, his warmth and sturdiness reminding her of her husband. When she awoke, she was no longer draped over him, but rather she was at his side. She glanced over and saw him squinting at his cell phone as he scrolled on the bright screen.

“Back to work so soon?” Angelica asked.

“No,” Thomas said, not glancing at her. “I mean, maybe? This congressman from back home keeps emailing me and I’m not really sure why. Could be that he wants my help with something political, but in that case he really ought to contact my office, not my personal email.”

“Aren’t you a popular one,” Angelica teased.

Thomas snorted with laughter.

“I didn’t think it was _that_ funny.”

“What?” Thomas asked. “Oh. No, sorry, the email.”

“Oh.” Angelica glanced at the clock on the night stand. “Well, I’ll leave you to that, then. I should take a shower before John comes to get me.”

“Sure thing,” Thomas said. “Let me know if you need help turning it on.”

 

Thomas was finished with his phone by the time Angelica emerged from the bathroom. They waited together in the living room talking about the sights of Paris until John arrived.

“Did you win?” Angelica asked John in the cab.

“No,” John admitted, “but I had a good time.”

“I did, too.”

“So did you talk about next time?”

“No,” Angelica shrugged. “I'm sure it'll come up on its own at some point. In the meantime, he asked the two of us to play mini golf with him.”

“Mini golf?”

“I told him you were playing laser tag, and he said that sounded like too much running around for him, but if we liked kiddish things like that we might want to join him for some mini golf.”

John huffed. “‘Kiddish things like that.’”

Angelica snickered. “Don’t worry, I made sure to be offended enough for the both of us. But I _did_ tell him I’d ask you.”

“I have no problem with it. Might as well get to know him better. And kick his arse in mini golf to knock him off his high horse.”

“In that case,” Angelica said, “we'd better go practice.”


End file.
